


Of Lineages, Wars, and Jedi

by Navai147



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: CT-7567 | Rex (probably) Needs a Hug, Gen, Hurt CT-7567 | Rex, Post-Battle of Endor (Star Wars), Rex deserved to know, Rex finds out Anakin became Darth Vader, Rex tells Luke stories about Anakin Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:09:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29264067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navai147/pseuds/Navai147
Summary: After the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker is grieving for his father, and unsure of where to go next. However, those thoughts are halted as he meets someone who knew his father a long time ago.
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Luke Skywalker
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	Of Lineages, Wars, and Jedi

_**Of Lineages, Wars, and Jedi** _

After the Second Death Star had been destroyed, the Rebel Alliance celebrated alongside the small, teddy bear-like Ewoks, who had been their allies in the grand battle. The celebrations had gone on for the entire night, and now, it was starting to wind down. Rebels were checking their inventories and packing bags in preparation of going home, now content with the knowledge that the Galactic Civil War had turned in their favour, with the deaths of the two lead figures of their adversarial institution, the Galactic Empire.

Some of the Rebels who were not checking inventories or packing late in the night had gone to sleep right on the foliage or had blended in with the environment in the area surrounding a massive fireplace that had been erected after the end of the battle. The fireplace was still lit, emitting its heat and warm, orange light. In the area, General Leia Organa was most noticeable, her head rested on the shoulder of fellow General Han Solo, both asleep on a log right beside a tree, both content with how far they had come. General Lando Calrissian was nearby, asleep on another log. There were also other Rebels asleep either on the ground or on logs in the area. All were content, except one Rebel, who was neither sleeping nor checking inventory or packing, Commander and Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, son of the late Anakin Skywalker and the one to defeat both the dreaded Darth Vader and the now-late leader of the Galaxy, Emperor Palpatine (at least, that’s what most of the Rebels knew).

The Jedi was the only one awake, though isolated from everyone else. He was glancing off from a spot past where the grand celebration had occurred, looking far into the forest. However, it wasn’t the trees, the plants, nor the numerous critters roaming around that he was thinking about as he looked forward. No, he was thinking of the events that had occurred over the past week. He had saved Han Solo from carbonite on Tatooine, took down a major chunk of Jabba the Hutt’s criminal empire with his friends (not to mention Leia taking down the leader himself), fought in the Battle of Endor, crippling the Galactic Empire that had menacingly ruled over the Galaxy for twenty-three years, redeemed his father, the dreaded Sith Lord Darth Vader, and finally, with the former Sith Apprentice’s help, defeated Emperor Palpatine, the Sith Master, as he had been destined to since he was born.

Yet, he still didn’t feel content. No, he was grieving over his father’s death. While he understood it had been Anakin Skywalker’s time, he still felt like he could’ve saved his father, _if only he hadn’t taken off his father’s mask and had taken him to a medical centre instead_. However, it still had been his father’s time, and Luke knew that had his father not died, the rest of the Rebel Alliance would have been out for his blood. His father’s death was probably for the best; probably, however much Luke had wanted to _save_ his father.

Luke decided that another small walk, another on top of the many ‘small walks’ he had done throughout the night, would do him good. Leaving the balcony, and his dormant friends, Luke walked away from the lit fireplace and into the darkness.

Alongside his father’s death, Luke also thought, he had fulfilled the destiny set for him by old Ben Kenobi and Master Yoda. He had defeated the Sith, the ages-old antithesis of the Jedi. And now, he would have to fulfil Master Yoda’s last request to him – to pass on what he had learnt to a new generation. To create a new Jedi Order. Luke intended to get started on that as soon as he was able, as soon as the Galactic Empire was fully extinguished from the Galaxy.

However, despite that, despite the numerous promises and requests placed upon him, Luke still felt lost. Even though he knew contact with Masters Ben and Yoda, and his father were possible, he still felt lost, no-one living to guide him, no one to directly tell him what he must do next, how to become equal to the old Jedi Masters, and finally, how to pass on his knowledge to the next generation.

Luke felt lost.

For a few minutes he walked, his mind replaying the thoughts he had already expressed within his mind, with no way of making them go away. For a moment, he considered just going back to the warm fireplace and at least trying to get some sleep, however, he did not feel tired, and did not feel contented, so he kept walking, despite the cool night air biting at his face, ears, and neck.

He went quite a distance before an out-of-place light made him stop. It was a light from a torch, held by a figure who was looking out into the forest the same way Luke had done earlier, the way Luke had been doing all night. This figure was not familiar to the young Jedi, but from what he could see, the man was an old one, helmeted, and with a long beard. There was an aura of experience from this man, as if he had faced many years of war. His Force Presence, Luke could sense, was like an old pillar, strong, grand, and unyielding. He was wearing camouflaging green armour, though with some white-and-blue armour plates that looked like had seen a lot of action.

Suddenly, the man noticed that someone was staring at him, and turned. Luke could then see the man’s face, illuminated by the torch he was holding. He was tanned, and with wrinkles that suggested both weariness and age. The man did look tired, his eyes expressed so. Luke knew that look, having seen it on many of the older, veteran Rebels, this man had fought war for many years, experienced it far more than the young Skywalker ever had.

Something with Luke made the man’s eyes soften, as his battle-hardened expression turned into an unreadable one, as he asked, “Commander Luke Skywalker, I presume.”

The man’s voice even suggested battle experience! Luke straightened himself, not surprised that the man recognised him, as he replied, “Yes. And… who are you?”

“I am Rex, Commander. Fellow Rebel, just like you.” The man came forward and held the torch on his hand in between the two men, illuminating Luke’s face too.

“Nice to meet you, Commander.”

“Eh, just Rex is fine.” The man waved Luke’s use of his honorific away as if swatting a fly, then, he asked, “So… you defeated Darth Vader?”

Luke cringed, as he answered truthfully, “No. I did not defeat Darth Vader. He redeemed himself and killed the Emperor.”

Lots of fellow Rebels had asked the same question, and he told the truth to all of them, at least the part where Darth Vader killed the Emperor (he hadn’t told anyone that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker yet, except Han). The Rebels either believed him, or, as the majority did, just rebuffed the statement because Darth Vader _redeeming_ himself was just too nonsensical. Not even Leia believed the former Sith Lord had redeemed himself.

Apparently, this Rex did not either, raising an eyebrow, and asking, “Redeemed himself?”

“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but I did not defeat Darth Vader, at least not directly. He sacrificed himself saving the Emperor.”

Now, Luke was fully expecting the man to laugh at the statement, or angrily declare that he was lying, however, Rex asked a question that the Jedi had not expected in any way, “And _why_ would Darth Vader save you?”

Now, Luke had no idea what to say. Indeed, the question threw him off. At that stage, any Rebel listening would have left. But Rex didn’t, instead, he held a curious expression, looking straight into Luke’s eyes. He had no idea whether to tell the truth, or to do something else entirely.

 _“Tell him,”_ a voice suddenly spoke at the back of his head, the voice of Anakin Skywalker before he had become Darth Vader, as Luke immediately knew, having heard him throughout the party _, “tell him the truth, he deserves to know.”_

And so, Luke listened to his father, telling the absolute truth, “Because Darth Vader is my father, and I redeemed him from the Dark Side. Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, and Anakin Skywalker was long hidden within him until I bought him out."

The young Jedi expected the man to immediately laugh at the ridiculousness of the statement, because, hell, it was absurd that a mass-murderer would redeem himself because of a single son, and that the dreaded Sith Lord was actually a selfless, renowned Jedi, however, the man did not, seeing Luke’s expression, widening his eyes, and whispering, “You’re telling the truth.”, as if Luke’s statement had been a punch to the gut, “Darth Vader was… _Anakin Skywalker_?”

“Yes.” Luke nodded, now a bit more silent than before. He felt like a large revelation had been dropped.

“I never thought… in a thousand hells… I thought he died at the end of the war! Darth Vader was _your father_ , Anakin Skywalker?”

“Yes.”

“And you redeemed him from the Dark Side? He saved your life?”

“Yes.” Luke was getting more silent and nervous with each answer. He took a step back, feeling like the old man needed a moment, although he did ask, in a whispered, serious tone, “You knew my father?”

“Yeah. I knew your father. Kid, back in the War, I was your father’s captain. We fought alongside each other in almost every battle of the war.” Rex then huffed, and said in a depressed tone, “At least he died the hero he always was.”

At that answer, Luke became transfixed, another figure from his father’s life! And a Clone from the looks of it, Luke had never met one until now. Although not unaware of the serious tone the conversation had taken, the Jedi still asked, “What was he like? I never knew.”

At the last three words, Rex’s expression turned sad, his eyes showing many emotions lit by the torch he was holding, “Your father was a good man, kid, a good General, one of the best. Back in the day, he was called _The Hero with No Fear_. He would bravely charge the enemy lines with his soldiers and bring back victory by the head. But what set him out was how much he cared for all his soldiers. We were Clones, but to him, we meant something more than numbers.”

Luke really wanted to know what it was like being a Clone, however, he knew that was a question for later. There was a short moment of silence, and the torch on Rex’s hand dimmed. Tears started lining at the bottom of the man’s eyes, probably remembering all his times with Luke’s father. They had probably spent many years together before Anakin Skywalker was seduced to the Dark Side of the Force.

“ _General Skywalker_. How the hell did it happen?”, Rex whispered, and Luke could sense the strong emotions coming off the man, nostalgia, angst, and most importantly, _guilt_. The Jedi could ask the same question himself, though, it happened, but Luke couldn’t figure out why a valiant, good Jedi would suddenly bow to and then serve the Sith Emperor for twenty-three years. Rex then looked up, getting out of his brief emotional reverie, and asked, “Kid, do you know who your mother is? I have my suspicions, but…”

At that moment, Luke realised he knew nothing of his mother. Obi-Wan and Yoda had only talked of his father, Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi, who had turned into Darth Vader. People only talked of Anakin Skywalker, the gallant warrior and skilled pilot. His Uncle Owen had once said that his mother _“died in childbirth”_ , but that was about it. No-one ever talked about Luke’s mother, not even her name was uttered. Simply, Luke did not know who his mother was, did not even know her _name_. Luke wasn’t even sure if _anyone_ knew who Luke’s mother was, who Anakin Skywalker had sired his children with was.

And that was what Luke said, now knowing that this was a friend of his father’s, “I… I don’t know. No-one told me who my mother was, I don’t even know her name.”

“ _Karabast_.”, Rex swore, however, he continued, “I think I might know who it is, but… I’m not sure if it’s true.”

“Who is my mother?”, Luke had to ask, this was perhaps as close of a lead as he could get, bar directly asking his father.

“Perhaps, Senator Padmé Amidala. Your father loved her like no other and kept in contact with her throughout the war. I wasn’t truly sure about the extent of their relationship, but I knew they were involved in some way. Hell, I covered for them numerous times!”, Rex explained, “She seemed to stabilise him, even when things got bad… actually… I think Senator Amidala _is_ your mother, the more I think about it.”

To Luke, that seemed right, at least, there was a feeling that Senator Amidala, the late Senator of Naboo and one of the founders of the Alliance to Restore the Republic _would_ be his mother, and Leia’s, “Perhaps.”, he answered. The Jedi resolved to get a genetic test later on to verify.

After that, there was a moment of silence, as Luke felt more sadness come out of the trooper, and more tears began welling in the man’s eyes. The younger man couldn’t begrudge him of that, he had just heard that his former _General_ , the man he had fought side by side with in one of the bloodiest recent conflicts, had turned into a mass-murderer. Luke almost felt like walking back to the campfire where everyone else was to give the old man privacy.

However, before he could do that, Rex tentatively lifted his empty hand, the one without the now-rapidly dimming torch, paused a moment, and then put it on Luke’s right cheek, saying with a broken voice, “You look so much like him. You look so much like your father.”

And suddenly, Luke didn’t feel much at all like the Jedi he was supposed to be, instead feeling like a kid being judged by a kindly old uncle, as he asked, “Can you tell me more about him?”

At that moment, Luke was sure that his expression had transformed into a more vulnerable one. They were both vulnerable at the moment.

Rex smiled, despite the tears on his eyes and streaking down his face, as he answered, “Boy… kid, do I have a lot to tell you.”

And so, they both settled down, talking about Anakin Skywalker, even as Rex’s torch fully went out. Neither moved until the next morning, when the sun was shining bright and Leia came and told them that they were heading out of Endor back to home base.

* * *

**_Edit on 08/02/2021 as Author's Note (because I forgot to write about this before publishing):_ While writing this story, I had been looking for stories about Luke and Rex to see if anyone had done this concept already. While not the exact same, there was this other oneshot, _General Skywalker_ by ExecutiveCucumber, who also wrote about Luke and Rex after the Battle of Endor. I believe a bit of influence from that came here, and that one's also good so I'd recommend giving it a shot.**


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